Brandon Lee was a self-confessed Jackie Chan fan, who in turn was a fan of Lee's father Bruce Lee. Brandon pays homage to Chan by incorporating key moves from Police Story (1985) and Dragons Forever (1988) in the final fight scenes.
Brandon Lee stated in an US Magazine interview shortly after filming completed, that he had filmed a scene where he had to kick open a large oak door. He stated "we filmed this scene where I had to nail this huge oak door, so I go to do the scene and I broke one of my toes. My foot swelled up to the size of a watermelon and we had to end filming for the day." Adding insult to injury, he said, the scene was never included in the film.
Brandon Lee originally wanted Hong Kong director John Woo to direct the film. however, the studio wanted a martial arts film rather than the type of films that Woo made. The director role then went to Dwight H. Little. However there are stylish homages in & out to The Killer (1989), A Better Tomorrow (1986), and Hard Boiled (1992), as well as Legacy of Rage (1986), Lee's only film made in Hong Kong directed by Ronny Yu.
After delivering Fox a hit with Marked for Death (1990), director Dwight H. Little was the prime candidate to helm the picture.
Reportedly, some scenes were deleted from the movie prior to theatrical release. Some lobby cards and theatrical and TV trailers show parts of a deleted fight scene in an army office between Jake and couple of soldiers after he tries to steal files about his dead father.